


Significance of a Gala

by nxttime



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Boring and a pain, Duke has mixed feelings, Fluff, Galas are meaningful, Gen, Maybe a little deep but it's still fluff, but meaningful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 20:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16980966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nxttime/pseuds/nxttime
Summary: This year’s Wayne Gala would be Duke’s first, and he had no clue how to feel about it.





	Significance of a Gala

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zcinmalik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zcinmalik/gifts).



> ! I wanted to fill a stocking for someone, so I picked ones I thought I could do at least a little well. I hope it came out good! (This is my first time writing Duke, so please tell me how I did!)   
> In this, Duke’s just recently been adopted by Bruce, and it hasn’t made media yet.
> 
> Enjoy!

This year’s Wayne Gala would be Duke’s first, and he had no clue how to feel about it. On one hand, the way Dick and Tim spoke about it made him want to cut town for the weekend until it was over. But on the _other_ hand…

It felt like Duke formally being there, at the gala, where all the other Waynes were, was a way to show that he’s actually a part of the family. Like he could officially say he’s Duke Thomas-Wayne, and proud to be it, and people would know that he _really_ is part of the family. Not just some pity kid Bruce let bunk over at his place.

Duke was sitting on a building, now, legs dangling off the side of it as he carefully weighed the pros and cons. Technically, he was supposed to be on a short break, but thinking about the emotional factors and other, more naggy factors— _cough, rich people, cough_ —was not exactly helping him enjoy it.

There was a light _thump_ to his left, and Duke recognized it as Dick when the older plopped down beside him and started swinging his feet in the air, humming a light Christmas tune Duke didn’t recognize.

Glancing over, Duke nodded to his… older brother, in greeting. “Nightwing.”

“Signal,” Dick responded with a smile. “How’s patrol so far?”

Duke shrugged, leaning back on his arms. “Easy. Stopped a mugging or two—nothing major happening.”

Dick hummed. “Yeah. Crooks seem to tone it down whenever the holidays roll around, for some reason. Not that I’m complaining. Just makes things easier for us.”

Nodding, Duke checked the time.

His break was up.

Standing, and stretching while he was at it, Duke patted Dick’s shoulder. “Break time’s over for me. Time to hit the streets again.”

In one fluid movement Dick was standing beside him, hands on his hips as he continued to look at Gotham’s skyline. “You gonna be out much longer? I know Spoiler’s already turned in for the night, and Red Robin’s about to.”

Duke shrugged. “Probably not. Might just do one more round on Robbinsville, then I’m heading back in.” He smiled. “Holidays, after all.”

Facing Duke, Dick smiled back and rested a hand on Duke’s shoulder with a light squeeze. “Sounds good. I’ll be there once Hood signs off.”

Jason. Duke vaguely wondered if he’d be able to help Duke’s dilemma any, and decided to switch over to his frequency to see.

Duke nodded. “I’ll see you at home, then.”

Nightwing hugged him before parting with some very unnecessary acrobatics. _Show off_.

After he got Jason’s open frequency from Oracle, Duke moved to finish tonight’s patrol. He was looking forward to some of Alfred’s ginger bread cookies and chocolate milk, not to mention Dick had said something about a movie night earlier in the day.

He knew he had the right frequency when he heard, _“Joder! It’s the Christmas season but here the fuck I am. Shit, man.”_

_Jason must be upset,_ Duke thought to himself. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to ask—

_“I can hear you breathing. Which Bat are you and how fast can I get you off my back?”_

Well there went that.

Duke eyed a woman as she staggered down the sidewalk, clearly intoxicated, as he spoke. “Hey, Hood. It’s Signal.”

_“Oh. Hey, Signal. How’s it over there?”_

He shrugged to himself. “Pretty good. Wanted to ask you a question.”

There was the sound of panting over the line and a muttered curse before, _“Just a—” Someone just got punched_ , Duke managed to think to himself at the sounds that came over the link, _“—sec.”_

Deciding to follow the woman home, to make sure she arrived there safe, Duke murmured back, “Okay.”

A few minutes later, once the woman had made it to her place without incident, and as Duke was finishing up the circuit, Jason came back.

_“So, D, what’d you want to ask?”_

“I was just wondering what you thought about the galas. Thinkin’ about if I should ditch or not,” he admitted as he crossed another rooftop. Still nothing major—another attempted mugging that ended with the mugger returning the stolen objects willingly—and Duke doubted there’d be anything big going down tonight. Aside from whatever had Jason cussing up a storm earlier, anyways.

Jason snorted. _“Fuck ‘em. I hated those things. Rich snobs being nosy and assholeish. Glad I’m legally dead, actually, so I don’t have to show up to those things.”_ Jason paused. _“But Alfred always made it worth it. Damn, now I’m thinking about showing up just for the food.”_

This wasn’t helping at all. “Thanks, Hood. I’m heading back to the ‘cave, so I’m gonna switch frequencies again.”

_“Got it. Nice chat, Signal.”_

Duke hesitated a moment before saying, “Happy Holidays, Jason,” and quickly switching frequencies. He hears Bruce and Tim talking—he’s not sure what about—and speaks when they pause.

“I’m heading back,” he says simply.

“We’ll see you at the ‘cave,” Bruce answers. “Good work tonight Signal.”

Duke smiles a little at that. Holiday miracles, huh? “Thanks, B.”

* * *

The day of the gala came, and Duke decided he’d show up. Make sure people knew that he’s a Wayne now.

(And, hey, maybe they weren’t _that_ bad.)

He was double-checking his look in the mirror when Tim knocked on the door and poked his head in. “Hey, Duke?”

“Hold on a sec, Tim, I’m just checking something…”

Tim quirked a brow. “Dude. You’re looking at yourself in the mirror.”

Duke refused to let himself be embarrassed by that fact. He was just making sure he looked good. He didn’t want to be scrutinized for how he dressed—nah, he’d be able to take being tsked at for his personality, but how he _dressed…_

No.

He glanced over at Tim and sighed, facing his… his _brother_ fully.

_It’s still so weird to think of them like that. Does it get easier?_

“What?”

Tim looked up and down the hall before darting forward, grabbing Duke’s hand, and making a break for Dick’s room.

This caught Duke off-guard.

“Tim—what the hell, man!? What’re you doing?!”

“Shh!”

“No! Stop! I need to go change my _shoes!_ I ain’t wearing _these_ things for the gala!”

“No, I’m saving you!”

Duke spluttered. “From _what?”_

Tim looked back at him incredulously, stopping abruptly, eyes narrowing. “You _actually_ want to go to that thing?”

“Thought the way I was dressed—nevermind what I _said_ —made that pretty clear, Tim,” Duke answered with a raised brow.

_“Why?”_

Tim didn’t get it, but Duke didn’t expect him to. He’d always gone to things like this—was probably up to his eyeballs done with the shit. But Duke? He’d never gone to anything like this, and wanted to experience it for himself. He wanted stories to share with the others about crappy-ass gala situations and to be able to laugh at the ones his new siblings shared without feeling like he was being left out, or missing out on something. He wanted to _really_ belong with them.

But Duke didn’t say all of that. He didn’t say anything, actually. Tim must’ve seen the look on his face—read something in it, maybe—because suddenly he seemed to understand; to know, at least, why.

He sighed but gave a tired smile. “Okay. Fine.” Tim suppressed another sigh, and Duke could tell. “We’ll go too, then. Not about to let you suffer with Bruce and the Demon alone.”

Duke gave a grateful smile back. “Thanks Tim.”

Tim patted Duke’s shoulder. “It’s what brothers do, man. Just know you’ll regret it before Bruce has even had time to give his speech.”

Duke chuckled and Tim walked off for his room.

He was grateful, sometimes, to be in a family of detectives. Sometimes you didn’t need to say anything, but they knew anyways. It made things easy more often times than not. Like now, for instance. Duke wasn’t sure he’d have been able to admit everything he’d had on his mind then, but Tim had seen something that made him understand.

As Duke thought about how lucky he was to have been adopted by Batman and have the Robins as brothers, and Black Bat as a sister, he headed back to his room to change his shoes.

And maybe a small part of him did regret making the choice he had when Tim said he would.

It didn’t make him any less grateful to have this new family to celebrate the holidays with.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas to those who read this, and happy holidays if you don't celebrate it ^^  
> God bless!


End file.
